This easy collaboration grew out of years of friendship—both professional and personal. “I first met Laura, who is like the Rolls-Royce of kitchen designers, when I was decorating houses,” says Dawn, a former real-estate agent and interior designer. After Dawn and her husband, Steve, bought their house in suburban Chicago, she called O’Brien. “I told her she owed me a favor,” says Dawn, a payback for a date the homeowner had arranged years earlier between O’Brien and the man who would become her husband.

The kitchen, living, and dining areas are open to one another—unified by painted ceiling beams and trusses and terra-cotta floor tiles imported from France. Richly veined Calacatta Gold marble countertops add timeless elegance, while a stainless-steel Julien sink and Laura Kirar for Kallista fixtures introduce a modern vibe.

The two met over coffee and got down to business. “We designed the entire space in three minutes on a napkin,” Dawn says.

“The space was spectacular,” O’Brien says. “Architecturally, it required nothing, but everything in the kitchen seemed too small. The scale of the range hood and appliances was off, and there were too many little cabinets and doors.” In addition, it didn’t meet Dawn’s needs for storage, sophistication, or shimmer.

And sparkle it does. A stunningly wide zinc range hood stretches the full width of the clerestory windows above. Nearby, cold food storage—including a pair of refrigerators, multiple freezer drawers, and a wine refrigerator—is massed for balance behind custom doors painted whisper-soft gray. “Banded together, all that refrigeration reads as one unit and creates a very large visual that works well in such a big room,” O’Brien notes.

A seven-foot-square island takes center stage, painted white and topped with marble. The kitchen’s one sink also features oversize proportions—36 inches wide and 10 inches deep. Drain boards on both sides cloaked beneath sliding walnut cutting boards add to the functionality and allow multiple people to use the same water source simultaneously, O’Brien says.

To counter the kitchen’s heft, the de-signer introduced slim, sleek accents such as Lucite ghost stools; clear, wire-wrapped light fixtures; and open shelves to showcase Dawn’s collection of mercury glass and silver. Even the kitchen’s polished-nickel sconces and hardware act as jewelry—also inspired by Dawn’s bracelet.

Another favorite: the room’s existing terra-cotta floor tiles, imported from Provence. “At first I wanted to rip them out. I mean, they’re red!” Dawn says. “But eventually I realized how perfect they were. They’re warm, they ground the white, and they hide dirt. I wouldn’t change them—or anything else in this kitchen—for the world.

The zinc range hood is wider than the 60-inch Wolf range, creating a focal point beneath the clerestory windows. Open shelves alongside the hood enhance the kitchen’s casual aesthetic. On the adjacent cold-storage wall, two Sub-Zero refrigerators, freezer drawers, and a wine refrigerator are grouped near the island.